I have recently seen an Eagle Squadron patch in bullion. Certainly genuine, but were such bullion badges worn on RAF uniform?

I think I am right in saying that US forces wore/wear their current unit patch on one shoulder while the patch of their former unit on the other shoulder. If so, would a bullion Eagle Squadron badge be more likely to be worn on a US uniform by a former RAF Eagle?

Hi Alex,

I've been researching the Eagles for about 25 years. And know several personally. As of yet, and I have asked them, no one has seen or heard of an original ES patch in bullion. And none have shown up in original period photos. As far as someone having one made up to wear after he had transferred, anything is possible. But I haven't seen one there yet either, in photos or in person.

Also, I have only seen one ES patch on an American Class A tunic so far. George Carpenter (ex-121 Sqdn) of 335 Sqdn, 4 FG, has one on his US Class A. He told me he wore it that way. But I haven't seen an original period photo of him wearing the patch on the tunic. And I got to go through his photos at his home with him.

The only WWII period photos I've seen of an ex-Eagle with the patch in American uniform, is Don Young (ex-121 Sqdn), and Aubrey Stanhope (ex-121 Sqdn) wearing one on a scarf, while in flying kit. These are portrait type photos. Both of these photos can be seen on our website:

www.eaglesquadrons.com

If you have a photo of the Bullion patch, I would be interested in seeing it. There were 2 bullion patches that recently sold on ebay that were identical to the repro bullion ones presently selling on ebay, but tarnished. Are you referring to those?

Hope this helps a bit.
Cheers, Bruce Zigler

Hi Zig

Great site. I had seen it before but have expored it more now. Great stuff!

I was thinking of the bullion patches recently on ebay. I was comparing them with repro ones on sale at the same time and there were several differences, the tarnished ones being finer in the work. I asked the dealer for a scan of the front and back (front here as the whole scan was too large to upload)



One thing about them was that they were not a 'pair', in that the badges both faced the same way. But they had stitching holes around them and look better than any repros I have seen elsewhere. Also, they are not on blue/grey of course, another reason why I wondered if they might have been worn on the US uniform. If they are repro, someone has done a lot of work on the tarnishing!

On another topic, I used to go to a collectors fair in London about 20 years ago and one of the dealers there I recall having an original A2 with a lovely painted (and original) ES badge on the sleeve.

I asked the dealer about the Eagle Squadron badges and he said he removed them from an RAF Wing Commander tunic.

I met George in San Mateo May 2002 at an Eagles reunion. I just received notification that Red Campbell passed away August 1st 2012, and am wondering if he was the last of the Eagles. Do you know if George is still with us?. He told us the story of his first kill. He said that it was his first time escorting some bombers to Europe. There was a big dogfight with the Nazi fighters, and one of them crossed in front of him, so he let loose with his guns. Upon his return, they told him that he had shot down a German Ace. Best regards Lee Mason

Sorry to hear about Red Campbell. There can't be but a handfull left alive.

Dave